Chasing the Light Magazine, Issue 35

Issue: 01 December 2014

Photography spanning the globe to inspire and inform

Welcome to December 2014’s edition of Chasing the Light Online Magazine for our f11 Members.

As we move into the festive period, we’ve got some treats for you this month from David Noton. First up in Behind the Lens, he continues the account of his wonderful trip to California in September, which includes bears, cubs, giant trees, and a waterfall dunking – gripping stuff! And of course, his usual Video Blog accompanies this commentary. As a bit of a winter warmer, this in this month’s Stepping Back David recounts the difficulties he encountered bagging that quintessential shot of Paradise, on the island of Moorea in Tahiti.

For The Low Down, David starts a new mini series on that essential yet complex topic of Exposure; in this piece he starts right at the beginning with metering. And for this month’s How It’s Done, David explains in our detailed Before-During-After format how he captured the full expanse of La Grotte Sarrazine in a vertical panorama during his recent trip to the Jura. He also presents his two usual Video Tutorials, one of which accompanies this How It’s Done article.

Elsewhere, Ross Hoddinott reminisces on a wonderful white Christmas he spent photographing the birds in his garden, which bagged one of his most successful images ever. In The Storyteller, we travel to Antarctica with Chris Weston to learn how he approached that special trip, but more importantly, what he brought home with him. And finally, we welcome on board Amsterdam-based photographer Jonathan Andrew: he reveals his fascination for shooting the dramatic landscapes of Scandinavia, and explains the ‘slowed-down’ approach that he uses he captures the true magic of that location.

To all our f11 Members, we hope you’re enjoying our magazine but we need your pictures. If you fancy being featured in the Member’s Gallery and entered into our annual photo competition, please send an email to membersgallery@davidnoton.com with three low-res jpegs and the story from behind the lens. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.

It's becoming the norm. On the trail ahead of us in the dim light I become aware of something black and furry moving: another bear. It ambles away and we press on, eager to reach my chosen cluster of trees on the Congress Trail while the light is still flat.

Le Bief Sarrazin: it's a good name for a raging torrent that appears out of a cave at the foot of a huge cathedral of sheer limestone rock which rears above. Down here, in the depths of the Gorges du Lison, it's lush and verdant, and with the short days of October steadily passing, the russet colours of autumn tinge the leaves in the woods all around me.

As we arrived on the crest of Bat's Head, the view looking along the coast to the east was stupendous. Below, the beach curved gracefully towards Durdle Door, as the enticingly named coombe of Scratchy Bottom curved in from the north. Beyond, the famous arch Dungy Head hid Lulworth Cove, while in the far distance St Aldhelm's Head completed the trio of receding headlands.

A high contrast sunlight woodland scene in Sequoia National Park is the challenging post-production task we tackle in Part 2, with particular attention to highlight and shadow recovery, exposure merging and layer masking.

I'm just a big kid - I love Christmas with all the trimmings. I have three young children, so as you might imagine their excitement around the festivities is simply contagious. Normally I'm the type of personality who struggles to relax or to take time off - just ask Fliss, my poor, long suffering wife!

Antarctica had always been at the very top of my Destinations Bucket List, the places I wanted to visit before I died. And so, when the opportunity arose in February 2013, I packed my bags in eager anticipation of fulfilling a lifelong ambition.

Moorea is, in my book, one of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world. In fact, I'll put my hand on my heart and vouch that it is the most beautiful island I've been to, and I've done a few. Over the years the quest for the most idyllic Bounty Bar destination has taken me from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean and the archipelagos of South East Asia, but it's those Pacific islands of French Polynesia that really do it for me.

Throughout my career as a commercial photographer based in Amsterdam, Scandinavia has provided me with an oasis of calm in my hectic life. It has been a place where I can slow things right down and concentrate on the essence of my photography, without having to work to a brief or meet a tight deadline.

We are thrilled to commemorate the Third Anniversary of our Chasing the Light Online Magazine by announcing the launch of David Noton's photographic competition for fully registered f11 Members, entitled Your Vision 2015.

Every month we publish an issue of our unique magazine Chasing the Light exclusively for f11 members. With features from behind the lens and on the road with David Noton it combines stunning photography with David's unique style of writing. Technical features, humorous anecdotes, travel notes, a member's gallery, news and the stories behind the pictures make it an entertaining, informative and inspirational monthly read and information resource for all who love photography and travel. All this for less than the price of a coffee and a biscuit a month. F11 members can also download other exclusive content such as Despatches+ and video blogs for free as they become available.